# Cohorts and Activations

RudderStack Profiles now provides the **Cohorts** and **Activations** features, which let you define target customer segments in your warehouse and activate them in downstream marketing tools like Braze, Mailchimp, etc. They give business users unprecedented access to complete customer profiles through an intuitive UI.


## Cohorts

Using cohorts, you can define core customer segments in your warehouse via a simple YAML configuration, and the entire business can use them as a single source of truth. It is a subset of instances of an entity meeting a specified set of characteristics, behaviors, or attributes. For example, if you have a user as an entity, you can define cohorts like known users, new users, or North American users, etc.

{{< image src="images/profiles/cohorts-view-ui.webp" alt="Activation API" >}}

By leveraging cohorts, you can target specific customer segments by enabling targeted campaigns and analysis. See [Cohorts](https://www.rudderstack.com/docs/profiles/cohorts/) for more information.

## Activations

Activations provide business users the access to explore the customer 360, build audiences from cohorts, and sync them directly to the desired destinations. This helps you make informed decisions, run personalized marketing campaigns, and enhance the overall customer experience across multiple platforms.

{{< image src="images/profiles/activation-view-ui.webp" alt="Activation" >}}

See [Activations](https://www.rudderstack.com/docs/profiles/activations/) for more information.